CONCORD - For decades New Hampshire thrived by attracting young, highly educated people to join the state's workforce, and Colin Van Ostern was one.

Born in California 33 years ago, Van Ostern moved every couple of years with his family until 1993 when he moved to Washington, D.C., on the day former President Bill Clinton was sworn into office for the first time.

"It was an amazing experience to see a million people come out and to see the optimism for our country," he said. "It was really about embracing our county's future."

Van Ostern, who was recently elected as the District 2 Executive Councilor and is a brand manager for Stonyfield, Inc., later served as a White House intern.

His love of politics led him to New Hampshire in the summer of 2001 to be former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen's communications director for her 2002 U.S. Senate campaign.

"Until that point, I moved around my whole life," Van Ostern said. "I.fell in love with New Hampshire and I've lived here longer than anywhere else. I met my wife, Kristyn, here - she also worked on Jeanne Shaheen's campaign in 2001."

The Concord resident did not leave after the Shaheen campaign, but instead went to Dartmouth and earned his MBA while serving as associate director of public relations for the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Soon after he graduated, he was offered a job at Apple in California not far from where he went to elementary school. He said he was really tempted because he always loved technology and worked as an intern on a start-up technology firm when he was in college.

"After I went to Apple, I visited the house we used to live in and spent a lot of time thinking," Van Ostern said. "When I got back to New Hampshire, I bought a puppy and proposed to my wife and decided I was going to stay in New Hampshire."

While in New Hampshire, Van Ostern has run his own consulting and marketing firm, Washington Street Consulting, advising nonprofits and small businesses, and was campaign manager for Annie McLane Kuster's 2010 campaign for the 2nd District Congressional seat.

Now his focus is on the Executive Council and his job at Stoneyfield. ?"This is a particularly important time with a new governor, and I look forward to working with her and the other councilors to focus as much as possible on strengthening our economy," he said.

He called Stonyfield a fantastic company to work for and said he is working hard to grow its business, most recently by helping launch Stonyfield YoKids Smoothies - real yogurt smoothies with organic fruits and vegetables - that he said is doing very well.

But he worries the state is not attracting young professionals and their families like it used to when he came to New Hampshire.

"It's a huge challenge for us and something the government can't fix," Van Ostern said. "It has to be driven by the private sector and strengthening communities."